Goal setting is an important part of pool, but one that can be tricky and has to be done right. I've struggled with this over the years and have since found a way of looking at things which allows me to manage my overall career while actually taking pressure off of me during competition. I'd like to share, let me know what you think.
First some review. There are two types of goals: Result goals and process goals. Result goals are specific outcomes such as being the MVP on your league, winning a tournament, running 100 balls, etc. These are within our influence (we can do things to prepare for them and increase their likelihood) but not directly within our immediate control. We don't know exactly how and when they'll happen, and it depends in part on how our opponents play, how the balls break, and so on. Meanwhile process goals are things we want to strive for during game play we can directly control such as preshot routine, decision making, giving our best effort on every shot, etc.
Many know this already, but process goals are very useful during competition. They help us stay relaxed because we know 100% we can achieve them. I'm not sure I can beat my next opponent tonight in the one pocket, but I'm 100% sure I can make good decisions and take deep breaths to calm myself. This confidence helps us reduce pressure. So at first glance this sounds great, let's just go with process goals!
On the other hand, how does this fit in with an intense desire to win, to achieve long term goals that motivate us to do all of this in the first place? Can we really just execute our process goals and trust they'll eventually achieve great results? If we're playing aimlessly and without inspiration we very well may not. Hmm, looks like we need the result goals as well to give us a direction. But how can we tie them together without reverting to creating additional pressure on ourselves during a competition?
This is where I worked out the commander/soldier approach. Inside of each of us we have two parts. A commander and a soldier. And we're trying to win a war. Each has an important role.
The commander is the big picture, results guy. This is the guy that decides what our long term goals look like. What exactly does winning the war look like? OK, great. Now, what battles do we need to fight to get there? Drills? Sparring? Competition? Lessons? Study off the table? He needs to draw up a game plan that is foolproof and accounts for the humanity of his soldier and budgets for adversity and setbacks.
The soldier is the one on the battlefield that is the process guy, fighting the individual fights. He's the one that is trying to execute one tournament, match, game, and shot at a time. He needs to focus on process goals and simply give his best. The soldier has to trust his commander so much that he would gladly sacrifice his life in battle.
Many of the problems I've seen with players can be solved by improving the relationship between the commander and the soldier. For example if the commander expects too much of the soldier then things go south. Suppose the commander sets up a plan which involves the soldier winning every battle he fights. This isn't realistic and creates too much pressure. In the heat of battle when the pressure is high, the soldier will despair knowing he can't make a mistake because he will not only lose the battle, he will cost his country the war. This is way too much pressure! On the other hand if the commander budgets for losses along the way then the soldier will be much more at ease. He will think "I know I may lose this battle, but my job isn't to win, it's to die trying, and as long as I do that then even if I fall today, we will win the war".
This is a big deal. I can't tell you how many times I see people get extremely ambitious and unrealistic with their goals, then put incredible pressure on themselves to never make a mistake. Then when they inevitably succumb to that pressure, they question their entire journey and goals altogether. They despair and think maybe it will never happen for them. Both the soldier and commander are now dysfunctional. And I also can't tell you how often I get asked about how I handle the pressure of playing a better player. The old cliche 'Play the table not the player' is useless in the sense that while it makes sense it doesn't offer any value (at least not to anyone I've met). But the mindset above does. When I play a better player I'm not afraid because I don't need to win, I just need to make every darn ball I can. Each enemy soldier I kill today is one less that won't attack another town where I have friends and family living. So I will fight to the death. I may not live to see tomorrow and we may lose this battle, but if I die today it will be knowing my commander and my country will win the war! But this is only true if I give my all and fight my hardest, so my soldier self will focus on the process goals at hand and fearlessly do battle.
To recap. The commander needs to set goals that are high enough to be inspiring, but achievable enough to be believable or that inspiration is lost. He must be extremely realistic about the soldier's ability and pick a path forward that budgets for the soldier's humanity so as not to create additional pressure or loss of belief in the mission. The commander should have a plan for practice, competition, and development that will without fail achieve the goals that would be considered 'winning the war'. Then, when the soldier is in battle, he must trust his commander. he can't be down 5-1 in a race to 9 and start thinking about whether or not he'll ever make it as a player. NO! That's the commander's job to think about, and at the table only the soldier is present. The soldier must trust his commander and simply focus on process goals and fight to the death. Then, after a loss, when the soldier is crying in pain, you can shift back to commander point of view, applaud the soldier's efforts, put the flags at half mast for a day, and review his future battle plans knowing that everything will be all right.
For me this approach has helped me gel my long term goals with my process goals, reduce my fear of mistakes during competition, stave off most of the despairing thoughts I used to have during a match when things weren't going right, and just enjoy playing the game. I know where I'm going. I know what I have to do when I put my cues together. When I'm shooting I don't think about these things, I just fight. When I'm off the table I continuously evaluate the plan to ensure it's realistic yet inspiring. I really feel this has been a huge help for me in making the progress I have over the last few years, so if you struggle with any of these things I hope it will help you do the same.
First some review. There are two types of goals: Result goals and process goals. Result goals are specific outcomes such as being the MVP on your league, winning a tournament, running 100 balls, etc. These are within our influence (we can do things to prepare for them and increase their likelihood) but not directly within our immediate control. We don't know exactly how and when they'll happen, and it depends in part on how our opponents play, how the balls break, and so on. Meanwhile process goals are things we want to strive for during game play we can directly control such as preshot routine, decision making, giving our best effort on every shot, etc.
Many know this already, but process goals are very useful during competition. They help us stay relaxed because we know 100% we can achieve them. I'm not sure I can beat my next opponent tonight in the one pocket, but I'm 100% sure I can make good decisions and take deep breaths to calm myself. This confidence helps us reduce pressure. So at first glance this sounds great, let's just go with process goals!
On the other hand, how does this fit in with an intense desire to win, to achieve long term goals that motivate us to do all of this in the first place? Can we really just execute our process goals and trust they'll eventually achieve great results? If we're playing aimlessly and without inspiration we very well may not. Hmm, looks like we need the result goals as well to give us a direction. But how can we tie them together without reverting to creating additional pressure on ourselves during a competition?
This is where I worked out the commander/soldier approach. Inside of each of us we have two parts. A commander and a soldier. And we're trying to win a war. Each has an important role.
The commander is the big picture, results guy. This is the guy that decides what our long term goals look like. What exactly does winning the war look like? OK, great. Now, what battles do we need to fight to get there? Drills? Sparring? Competition? Lessons? Study off the table? He needs to draw up a game plan that is foolproof and accounts for the humanity of his soldier and budgets for adversity and setbacks.
The soldier is the one on the battlefield that is the process guy, fighting the individual fights. He's the one that is trying to execute one tournament, match, game, and shot at a time. He needs to focus on process goals and simply give his best. The soldier has to trust his commander so much that he would gladly sacrifice his life in battle.
Many of the problems I've seen with players can be solved by improving the relationship between the commander and the soldier. For example if the commander expects too much of the soldier then things go south. Suppose the commander sets up a plan which involves the soldier winning every battle he fights. This isn't realistic and creates too much pressure. In the heat of battle when the pressure is high, the soldier will despair knowing he can't make a mistake because he will not only lose the battle, he will cost his country the war. This is way too much pressure! On the other hand if the commander budgets for losses along the way then the soldier will be much more at ease. He will think "I know I may lose this battle, but my job isn't to win, it's to die trying, and as long as I do that then even if I fall today, we will win the war".
This is a big deal. I can't tell you how many times I see people get extremely ambitious and unrealistic with their goals, then put incredible pressure on themselves to never make a mistake. Then when they inevitably succumb to that pressure, they question their entire journey and goals altogether. They despair and think maybe it will never happen for them. Both the soldier and commander are now dysfunctional. And I also can't tell you how often I get asked about how I handle the pressure of playing a better player. The old cliche 'Play the table not the player' is useless in the sense that while it makes sense it doesn't offer any value (at least not to anyone I've met). But the mindset above does. When I play a better player I'm not afraid because I don't need to win, I just need to make every darn ball I can. Each enemy soldier I kill today is one less that won't attack another town where I have friends and family living. So I will fight to the death. I may not live to see tomorrow and we may lose this battle, but if I die today it will be knowing my commander and my country will win the war! But this is only true if I give my all and fight my hardest, so my soldier self will focus on the process goals at hand and fearlessly do battle.
To recap. The commander needs to set goals that are high enough to be inspiring, but achievable enough to be believable or that inspiration is lost. He must be extremely realistic about the soldier's ability and pick a path forward that budgets for the soldier's humanity so as not to create additional pressure or loss of belief in the mission. The commander should have a plan for practice, competition, and development that will without fail achieve the goals that would be considered 'winning the war'. Then, when the soldier is in battle, he must trust his commander. he can't be down 5-1 in a race to 9 and start thinking about whether or not he'll ever make it as a player. NO! That's the commander's job to think about, and at the table only the soldier is present. The soldier must trust his commander and simply focus on process goals and fight to the death. Then, after a loss, when the soldier is crying in pain, you can shift back to commander point of view, applaud the soldier's efforts, put the flags at half mast for a day, and review his future battle plans knowing that everything will be all right.
For me this approach has helped me gel my long term goals with my process goals, reduce my fear of mistakes during competition, stave off most of the despairing thoughts I used to have during a match when things weren't going right, and just enjoy playing the game. I know where I'm going. I know what I have to do when I put my cues together. When I'm shooting I don't think about these things, I just fight. When I'm off the table I continuously evaluate the plan to ensure it's realistic yet inspiring. I really feel this has been a huge help for me in making the progress I have over the last few years, so if you struggle with any of these things I hope it will help you do the same.
